Today, almost two thirds of all channel partners provide some type of
cloud-based services to U.S. SMB customers (Small and Medium Businesses
with 1-1,000 employees). Yet only a small proportion of these partners
have been successful in transforming their business model into a cloud
service provider. This report highlights the skill sets, competencies,
investments, business model, sales & marketing tools, etc., that are
required to successfully transform and migrate a partner to the cloud.
It also segments and profiles partners by their success and value in
providing various cloud services. Currently, about a fifth of partners
have successfully undergone this busines transformation while another
third of partners are in the process of doing so.

The report provides a number of insights which will allow vendors to
better serve their partner communities by addressing key issues through
a tactical approach. These insights include an overview of the market
opportunity and growth by cloud partner type (such as cloud resellers,
cloud application providers, cloud infrastructure providers, and Service
Providers/MSPs) and by types of cloud solutions offered (such as SaaS (News - Alert),
IaaS, and RMITS). A deep dive is taken into key, high growth solutions
such as virtualization and business analytics. Additionally,
competencies and business transformation practices employed by
traditional partners to successfully migrate into a cloud partner are
explored. An in-depth examination into partner marketing and sales
expertise will allow vendors to craft winning marketing strategies
through partners. Finally, given the explosion of the bring your own
device' (BYOD) phenomenon within the U.S. SMB space, partner mobility
offerings such as tablets, smartphones and mobile application
development are explored.

Key Topics Covered:

Executive Summary

Cloud Transformation Process for Partners

Market Size and Forecast of Cloud Partners

Business Characteristics of Cloud Partners

On-Premise Solutions Overview

Cloud Solutions Overview

Business Model

Sales, Marketing and Compensation of Cloud Partners

Vendor Relationships

High Level Profile of Cloud Partner Types

Mobility Overview

Appendix

Appendix: Business Transformation And Competencies For Cloud Offerings